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    Concepts - Italian Wine Appelations

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    gata kamsky
    Italy has over 500 indigenous grape varieties and produces more wine than any other country. The variety of Italian wines is due to viticulture evolving differently in diverse geographic regions over centuries. Grapes are sometimes only grown in certain areas, and some varieties were forgotten for decades before being revived. Italy classifies wines by appellations to indicate origin and production methods. Wines are organized into a pyramid system ranging from generic table wines to more restrictive DOCG and DOC appellations denoting a specific area and quality controls. The first two DOC wines were from Pantelleria and Marsala, while the first DOCGs were Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. IGT wines have a

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    Concepts - Italian Wine Appelations

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    gata kamsky
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    Italy has over 500 indigenous grape varieties and produces more wine than any other country. The variety of Italian wines is due to viticulture evolving differently in diverse geographic regions over centuries. Grapes are sometimes only grown in certain areas, and some varieties were forgotten for decades before being revived. Italy classifies wines by appellations to indicate origin and production methods. Wines are organized into a pyramid system ranging from generic table wines to more restrictive DOCG and DOC appellations denoting a specific area and quality controls. The first two DOC wines were from Pantelleria and Marsala, while the first DOCGs were Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. IGT wines have a

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    Italy has over 500 indigenous grape varieties and produces more wine than any other country. The variety of Italian wines is due to viticulture evolving differently in diverse geographic regions over centuries. Grapes are sometimes only grown in certain areas, and some varieties were forgotten for decades before being revived. Italy classifies wines by appellations to indicate origin and production methods. Wines are organized into a pyramid system ranging from generic table wines to more restrictive DOCG and DOC appellations denoting a specific area and quality controls. The first two DOC wines were from Pantelleria and Marsala, while the first DOCGs were Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. IGT wines have a

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    85 views4 pages

    Concepts - Italian Wine Appelations

    Uploaded by

    gata kamsky
    Italy has over 500 indigenous grape varieties and produces more wine than any other country. The variety of Italian wines is due to viticulture evolving differently in diverse geographic regions over centuries. Grapes are sometimes only grown in certain areas, and some varieties were forgotten for decades before being revived. Italy classifies wines by appellations to indicate origin and production methods. Wines are organized into a pyramid system ranging from generic table wines to more restrictive DOCG and DOC appellations denoting a specific area and quality controls. The first two DOC wines were from Pantelleria and Marsala, while the first DOCGs were Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. IGT wines have a

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Fundamental Ideas

    Italy has more than 500 indigenous red and white grape varieties and is, by far,
    the country with the highest number of wines produced in the world per year.

    The great variety of wines is due to the evolution of viticulture over the centuries in the
    different geographical areas of Italy where producers were pushed to select different clones from
    which new vines were then born as a result of either a particular territory and climate or an
    economic and quality demand.

    These grapes are sometimes only produced in certain areas of Italy. In some cases they have almost
    completely disappeared while in others they had been totally forgotten for decades and then
    brought back to life.

    The Italian system to organize the different wines is a tool to describe where the wines come from
    and how they are produced. In this way is possible to create a sort atlas of the Italian
    “Denominazioni“, the different appellations, and clearly understand the area of production and the
    rules that the winemakers must follow for the production.

    We can imagine a pyramid to visualize the system of the Italian Wine Appellations: at the bottom
    the most generic wines, the “Vini da Tavola”, the table wines, largely produced; then the Regional
    wines, the IGT; finally the DOC and DOCG, only produced is specific special areas and in little
    quantities.
    DOC wines
    The DOCG (Controlled and Guaranteed Denomination of Origin) mainly differs from the DOC in
    its quality. DOCG wines are, in fact, at the top of the pyramid of quality wines produced in Italy,
    and, before being released on the market, the wines must pass a sensory assessment at the
    Chamber of Commerce of the region where the wine is produced as a certificate of guarantee.

    In 1963, the Italian government issued a special decree to establish the wines that could be
    part of the Italian DOC, and the first two wines to be part of it were the Passito di Pantelleria and
    Marsala. DOC stands for Controlled Denomination of Origin meaning that the wine can only be
    produced in a specific area which certifies its origin and is controlled because it is sold with a seal or
    a numbered label. There are currently 330 DOCs in Italy, but it is a number that is expected to grow
    rapidly in the coming years. The region with the biggest number of DOCs is Piedmont with 42.

    DOCG wines
    The first two wines to boast the DOCG in 1980 were Brunello di Montalcino and Vino
    Nobile di Montepulciano immediately followed by Barolo and Barbaresco. To date,
    there are 77 DOCG wines among red and white wines, but this number is also destined
    to grow as many DOC wines that have received this recognition can receive the DOCG
    after 10 years if certain parameters are respected. The region with the biggest number
    of wines under appellation is, again, Piedmont with 16 DOCGs. 

    IGT wines
    The base of the quality pyramid is for IGT and generic wines or table wines. 

    The IGT or Typical Geographical Indication was started in 1992, and it is a very broad
    denomination in which the most important parameter is that the wine must be produced in a
    specific region. The most important example is certainly the IGT Toscana which includes all the
    other wines produced in this region that are not part of the great DOCG or DOC.

    IGT doesn’t necessarily mean low or bad quality. In fact, some of the best and most expensive
    Tuscan wines started as or still are IGT. 

    Table wine
    Table wine or generic wine is certainly the least valuable. Nowadays they are simply called “Vino
    Rosso” and “Vino Bianco”, red and white whine. It is not regulated like the other denominations, and
    it is not mandatory to write the vintage of production, the origin, or the grape variety on the label
    but only the alcohol level and the color.
    There is an example, however, that makes us think about the little importance that the
    denomination of a wine sometimes has. Sassicaia is perhaps the most famous Italian wine
    produced by a single winery, but it was classified as table wine until 1994.

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